Whittling Wood Carving

Any recommendations on a good finishing oil?

Flaxseed oil has worked nicely for me on some stuff, e.g. this spoon

Flax seed for me too. It's also known as linseed, but always get the raw stuff, not the boiled.

Ah, dug around in the shed and found these two, one is really thick, other is really thin...

The thick one looks a nicer colour ..

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Personally, I'd be wary of either of those. All sources I've found suggest that processed linseed often ends up with additives/contaminants that aren't food safe.

+1 mine is from food shop so intended for eating.

Unless finished item is for ornamental use only i guess?

aren't food safe.

Good shout. It'll mostly be for chess pieces, but it didn't cross my mind that it might not be safe for my utensils.

When I've bought flax oil for seasoning iron cookware (i.e. only smallish amounts required), I've found the cheapest/easiest to find in the shops has been this stuff: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/organic-oil/granovita-organic-flaxseed-oil-260ml

Not purified, so not sure how suitable it is for wood sealing - it's the same greeny-yellow colour as extra virgin olive oil.

Looking at the Christmas tree, it feels like a waste to bin it - in terms of tools, where's a good place to start if I wanted to attempt a spoon or two?

Would I be better off getting separate woodcarving knife and hook (like the Moras mentioned in this thread)? Or would I be able to get by with something like the Old Timer combination knife?

I guess I'm looking to minimise cost while I work out if it's something I can get on with, while also minimising the risk of slicing a finger/thumb/hand/arm off.

Moras ... Old Timer ...

minimising the risk of slicing a finger/thumb/hand/arm off.

Fwiw I've injured myself with both the above. ;)

Mora 120 is a lovely knife. I've started using gouges more than hook knifes myself, find them easier to work with.

On another note, plum is a lovely wood to work with I've discovered.

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First scoop with the new coffee scoop. First time using gouges was fun.

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That's a great mug (and measure)

I made a whisk. My grandmother always used to make them, she came to the UK from Poland in the 1930s, apparently they used to make them there. It’s the top part of a christmas tree, strip the bark off, sand a bit et voila. They’re brilliant whisks, you just rub between the palms of your hands to spin it round, back and forth. Years since I’ve made one, doing it brought back many happy memories of my grandmother. Using it will bring back more.

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^ this is ace, will have to rummage the dead tree pile next January!

First green wood for ages, local cherry tree chopped so got 4 biggish lumps.

Split one bit, half is on it's way to spoon-life. Hatchet only for shaping to this point, which was fun process.

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I made my mum one of these a few years ago they are fun to make and work really well. I've seen others where you leave the stem bits longer and steam them and bend them up so it's more modern whisk like.
top work 👍

The Cherry hardened quickly once I started working with it. Feel like I'm starting over learning to carve again.

Pruned Apple trees today, got only one small carvable bit but was happy with my initial hatchet shaping of it. (First pic)

I think I'm done shaping it, happy enough & would happily take it as a camping spoon if it doesn't split.

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Slightly off top any suggestions of what do with this?

It’s an old table that’s been eaten. I’m tempted to saw off the effected area and replace, but could be out of my skill set

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If that's a recent acquisition I'd start by taking it outside and well away from the house - whatever has eaten / is eating your table will be quite happy to try other wood items you own!

No I’ve had it for years. It’s always been like this. But I’ve sanded it and oiled this week so I’m tempted to fix these areas

I think it looks nice. If it has been fully treated, a glass top would be amazing (in my opinion!)

Kids "den" design aspirations meant some unplanned kindling to tent peg conversion work in the field. Crude but effective.

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Very similar to the pegs we used to use in Scouts

^ that was the inspiration.

Got new kit over Xmas, first spoon of 2022, old Plum and it split unfortunately so it'll not get finished.

Beaver Craft seem to be a new player to the tool market, these are ok on first impressions.

I need to buy a proper blank or find some better local wood to give the hook knife a bigger bowl shape to work in to test it properly.

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I've got a beaver craft detailing knife. Its OK, but it's not as nice as Mora I don't think.

Wood wise, I've been using Silver Birch a lot recently, it's a real pleasure to work with and has some lovely natural patterns in it.

I also got a scroll saw for Xmas, so I'm going to give that a go at cutting blanks before tidying with with axe. Happy to post one out if they work for trial, last I looked, buying blanks can be very expensive, usually around £8 each!